Young
by yoho-hey
Summary: Stoick is taking notice that Hiccup and Astrid's relationship is much like his and Valhallarama's.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! So this is just a cute little story I put together containing Stoick's perspective on Hiccup and Astrid's relationship. This takes place a few months after Gift of the Night Fury ****and if you're not deep enough into the fandom****, Valhallarama was Hiccup's mother.**

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It was a very silent night. Not a sound, not a movement. The entire village was far past asleep by now but Hiccup decided to stay awake and enjoy the peace while it lasted. He was in his private room at the back of the forge where he spent lots of time in every day creating designs and blueprints for his new inventions. Either that or he'd be taking a long, restful nap. It was one of the very few places where he could relax after a long day of training dragons and swarming fans. The entire village pretty much depended on Hiccup after his great discovery, so he was always busy receiving mini interviews and shaking hands with the other tribes during trading days. But tonight, was his own.

The small Viking was sitting on a wooden stool, hunched over his work table, left-handedly sketching his toothless Night Fury in his notebook that was always conveniently with him at all times. Hiccup enjoyed drawing Toothless, or anything for that matter. It was something that always calmed him down from any possible worries or fears.

The room was very dim, with only a few flickering candles here and there. The boy was very focused on his sketch, jolting his elbow back and forth, cloning the positions his pencil was moving in, and constantly twisting his mouth trying to perfect every detail and every angle while creasing his eyebrows in concentration.

"I like that drawing." A familiar voice sounded behind him.

Ofcourse it was her. Who else would go from one end of the village to the next just to see Hiccup at this time of the night? It was definitely a one of a kind young lady; Astrid Hofferson.

Astrid was the one and only daughter of the Hofferson clan. Hiccup had met her parents various times either running into them somewhere in the village or the days when Hiccup would go knocking on their door asking for their daughters availability for a romantic evening stroll; chatting and lying in the grass, staring at the night stars or searching for shapes in the clouds.

The two of them had a strong and passionate relationship, there was no rushing, yet no time wasting, but they had never expressed their feelings towards one another. They had kissed in public, but didn't speak about it. Sometimes you would even believe they were just friends. Astrid was in fact a very thoughtful person and she never had trouble showing her true emotions, whether it was angry, happy, or just in love; especially when she was around Hiccup. Ofcourse she felt strongly comfortable with her dear mother too, but her times with Hiccup didn't include a worry about trying to be the tough girl like she wasn't some damsel in distress everyone expected her to be.

Hiccup was very fond and respectful of Mr. and Mrs. Hofferson and they too shared the same affection towards him. Considering that he was indeed the 'town hero', they also took an approval towards the boy because of his strong gentleman-like abilities.

Astrid had her hands behind her back and was slightly leaning over Hiccup's shoulder but took a small step back when Hiccup jolted out of his seat, getting startled by her sudden presence, causing his pencil to fly out of his hand and land back down on the table.

"Astrid! H-hi, Astrid!" Hiccup hollered louder than the both of them had expected.

She couldn't help but giggle at Hiccup's amusing clumsiness which was one of the many things she loved about him. She had known the boy since they were kids and his constant studdering, his awkwardness, and his hand gestures he used to speak was something that made Hiccup, well… just Hiccup.

It was obvious that Astrid had some liking in going behind the boy and startling him even if she wasn't trying to. She must have found it amusing in some way, but nothing she did ever agitated him. The girl would always move so soundlessly that she could be in the same room as Hiccup for several minutes and he wouldn't notice.

His palms immediately started to soak with sweat from seeing Astrid's angelic face, so he attempted to casually brush his hands against his tunic a few times.

"You scared me." Hiccup chuckled.

"So I've noticed," Astrid responded with an adorable playful smile on her face, after managing to stop laughing which she carelessly failed to hide. "I thought I'd find you here." She continued.

Hiccup smirked almost nervously and ran his fingers through his hair. "Yeah, well, I've had another exhausting day so, I thought I'd just come down here for a bit. You know how it is."

"Yeah, I do."

"I didn't really expect you to be up at this time." It sounded like a question. He moved his hand from his hair to the back of his neck, trying to keep up conversation.

"Neither did I." Astrid said.

"So… what brings you here?" He was trying not to make himself sound forceful in any way, so his voice started to slow down half way through the question.

"I couldn't sleep." Her voice got softer.

"Oh." Hiccup paused. "Nightmares?"

"No, just restless." Astrid began to trace her fingertips along the edge of Hiccup's work table.

He was actually delighted that she'd decided to visit since his time with Astrid was valuable and shouldn't be wasted in his opinion.

Before he was able to open his mouth and respond to her, he seemed to notice Astrid stepping slowly and steadily _closer_ to him. Since there were no other actions in the room (or the village for that matter), besides the slight flickering of the candles, it was definitely noticeable.

A desiring expression crossed her face which Hiccup dared to admit it gave him a slight feeling of _temptation. _So he swallowed, and waited for Astrid to take place in her soon-to-be actions. She continued to step closer and moved very slow in the process which only tempted Hiccup even _more. _Soon enough, she was at a narrow enough distance from him for the tips of their noses to almost touch.

Letting out an inviting chuckle, Astrid gripped the front of Hiccup's tunic with both her hands since he wasn't wearing his fur vest that night, then playfully tugged on it a few times, looking down at her hands then back at him while biting her lower lip. It got rather hot in the forge so Hiccup always decided to just leave his vest at home, but if he chose not to, he was sure he'd find a volunteer to remove it for him anyway.

Eventually throughout the recent months, Astrid noticed herself actually looking up at Hiccup rather than directly forward since he had actually grown in height by a few inches.

She raised her chin more than enough so that her head was hauled back and moved slightly to the right while arching her back in a seductive fashion.

"I'm not in a rush to go anywhere." Astrid whispered under her breath.

Hiccup thought for a moment. He mischievously raised an eyebrow, looking up at the ceiling for a few seconds only to look back down at Astrid with a smirk on his face.

"I have time."

Astrid's grin broadened widely and she pulled him close enough for her to envelope her soft lips against his. Hiccup wasted no time in shutting his eyes and returning the favor for the two of them had done so more than once, but he still got butterflies in his stomach from the feeling of her soft, luscious lips against his.

He hovered his hands around her waist while she took action, and then slowly cupped them around her body, tightening his grip by the moment.

The sweet satisfaction was an indescribably pleasant feeling for the both of them; like nothing else in the world mattered at that moment. Every worry and every distress had smoothly escaped their minds.

Without the slightest of hesitation, Astrid lifted her arms and wrapped them around Hiccup's neck which aimed him to gently caress his hands from her middle back down to her hips. The contact had intensified and Astrid pressed her body into his, causing him to step back from the lack of balance. She had kept that action in process and Hiccup continued to step back while Astrid stepped forward, without breaking the kiss. Soon enough, he thumped his back into the wall when Astrid once again grasped his shirt and violently used her force to circulate them both, so that Astrid had her back against the wall instead.

For the shortest moment, Astrid departed her lips from Hiccups to look up at him underneath her bold eyelashes. She bit her bottom lip and gave him a stare that spoke as an allurement. Hiccup gladly accepted what he assumed was a warm invitation, and voluntarily opened his mouth to proceed pressing his lips against hers.

Astrid was shocked at his unexpected action, but gleefully went along with it for Hiccup had rarely been the one to kiss her, but the both of them were slowly rising to be more mature than they had been many months ago.

Odin knew how long they were at this, but it was somehow different than anything they had ever done with eachother or anyone for that matter. Getting carried away was one thing, but the amount of time was speechless. Maybe it was because of how peaceful it felt, and how not one worry flooded their minds.

Hiccup barely moaned from his satisfaction, and Astrid smiled underneath the kiss from the sound of it. He grabbed her by the hips and pulled her against his body as far as she could go when a sudden ruckus had occurred behind them. Startled by the sound, they finally broke the kiss, feeling the soreness of their mouths. The room was dim yet bright enough for them to take notice of large black figure in the doorway.

Toothless.

The dragon sat like a puppy with his head titled to the left in confusion and his big ears stuck up straight in the air. The pupils of his eyes were extensive, which were framed by his bright green iris that glowed in the dark of the room.

Toothless wasn't surprised that he would find his rider with the blonde Viking at this time of night, doing that strange mouth game again that he never understood. He was aware that the two of them have been with each other a lot recently, but Hiccup was still his rider, and he'd interrupt them if he had to. So he let out an echoing purr while two small grey clouds of smoke sprung out of his nostrils.

Astrid cleared her throat in embarrassment.

Hiccup slightly scrunched up his nose and shut his eyes in annoyance that the two of them had been disrupted with no chance of going back to what they were doing now that the dragon was in the room. This wasn't the first time this has happened and Hiccup and Astrid both knew that Toothless wanted his fair share with his rider.

Slowly spinning around, Hiccup shoved a hand through his hair with the same feeling of embarrassment Astrid had as he walked towards the dragon.

"Oh, err- hey, Toothless." He spoke softly, placing a kind hand on the dragon's snout.

This was an awkward moment.

Astrid gave out a breath of laughter from behind him. "I guess it's probably best."

Hiccup couldn't agree more since the last thing he wanted was an unwanted visit from the Hofferson's complaining for keeping their daughter out too late. Although it was never easy to let her go, he decided to allow it and start heading home himself.

"So, I guess we'll call it a night?"

"Yeah." Astrid agreed. She stepped towards Hiccup to plant a delicate peck on his cheek before walking towards the doorway. A sudden pink blush had begun to form all over his face not only because of Astrid, but Toothless was eagerly watching the whole thing too.

Toothless trusted Astrid. She and Hiccup were the only humans he actually felt comfortable around while he was very wary around everyone that would come near him. He knew that humans were good people, but the thought always comes to mind that they used to kill his species. But he liked Astrid. And if she made Hiccup happy, then that made him feel the same. Not only that, but she was in fact his second rider, and basically Hiccup's substitute.

The girl was nearly out the door when she rotated her head to glance at Hiccup once more. "Good night."

Hiccup smiled. "Good night, Astrid."

ooooo

Hiccup opened his eyes, blinking a few times only to be caught by a second of momentarily blindness from the slim slits of sun shining through his bedroom window, along with a cool gust of wind brushing through his hair and across his face.

"Nnngg." He rubbed his sleepy eyes with his sleeve and propped himself up on his elbows.

The peace on Berk had definitely increased. Although it had been an extent of time after the big battle, it was still never completely gotten used to that it was shockingly quiet compared to the days of the dragon raids and Hiccup was at least thankful for that. After all, it used to be an awakening from your house getting lit on fire from an unexpected Monstrous Nightmare, so the blinding light was nothing to complain about.

After regaining consciousness from being mounted up too quickly, Hiccup scooted himself upright and on the edge of the wooden cot and waved a lazy hand around trying to take hold of his prosthetic resting on the ground in front of him for he was still half asleep and so was his eyesight.

Gods, he hated that leg. It was definitely tough to have to take that thing off and on constantly for occasions, only for it to hurt like Hel the entire time it was worn.

But that's what you get for saving the village.

The leg slipped directly into the leather strap he had to wear wrapped around his calf underneath his pant leg to keep it attached, and was buckled up to finally secure the prosthetic in place.

Hiccup grasped his riding vest from the end pillar of his bed and pushed himself up towards the door as he could hear the prosthetic clapping and squeaking against the wooden floor in every second step, quickly slipping on the vest as he stumbled down the stairs.

The house was very quiet as it usually was most mornings considering Hiccup's father was the only other member in the house and was usually out elsewhere in the Village. As a Chief, there are meetings to attend and islands to visit, so the boy wasted no time in excitedly running towards the front door with a destination, assuming he was alone until his eyes flickered to the left only to take notice of his dad sitting at the dinner table with a mug of mead in his hand and a half eaten chicken leg on the table before him.

"Oh, hey dad," Hiccup tried to smile, eventually slowing down to a stop to greet his dad.

"Morning son," Stoick welcomed cheerfully. "You're finally up, I see."

"Yeah, I guess I just needed a few extra hours." The boy began to casually spin his way around towards the door but was stopped by his father's voice once again.

"You came back pretty late last night."

Hiccup bit his lip, halting on the spot and slowly turning his head back around. "Did I?"

Stoick couldn't help but laugh at his sons failed attempt of trying to hide what they both knew. Last night hadn't been the first time the boy had come home late, and Stoick didn't need to ask to know the reason for that. "You know, it won't be my fault when the Hofferson's start complaining."

Hiccup sighed knowingly. He had heard this a million times. "I know, dad."

"Are you going to see her?" The Chief asked too casually for Hiccup's liking.

"Dad!"

Stoick laughed into his mug, assuming that was a yes. "Well then, no one's stopping you from…" He paused to find the right words, nodding his head. "Whatever you kids do these days."

Stoick was aware Astrid that was the first girl Hiccup had come close to besides his mother, and he couldn't be more proud of his son for that, since he thought for sure that after the loss of his mother he wouldn't try to get close to someone again. But they both had their shine to Astrid, both with their own reasons. Stoick was in fact the Chief of the Hairy Hooligan Tribe and with that, sometimes his largeness and demanding tone made some villagers even fear him, but it never seemed like a problem for Astrid. She sometimes treated him like an uncle, or even a dad. That was what made her different.

The only response out of Hiccup was a heavy sigh, but he couldn't fight back the grin that began to bloom on his face from his dad's teasing as he walked his way out the door with his back turned. He finally stepped out, feeling relieved that that embarrassing conversation was over, and then stepped out into the isle of Berk.

He smoothly breathed in the crisp morning air, exhaling in luxury. The cool breeze of wind and the sound of chirping birds was the most _amazing_ feeling. And since Hiccup's house was located at the top of a hill, he had an incredible view to look at every time he stepped outside.

There were very few villagers wandering outside in Hiccup's line of sight since most of them usually go down to the Great Hall to scoop up some breakfast at about this time.

Just like every morning, Hiccup was greeted with the squawking sound of a dragon and looked to see the prancing Night Fury located on the roof of his house where he always waited for him. He gawked at his rider once more, impatiently waiting for his daily morning flight. Most nights Toothless would sleep in Hiccup's room, but other nights he'd stay on the roof when it got warm.

The boy began to make his way towards Toothless but the dragon had already been one step ahead as he jumped down and landed right in front of his rider.

Hiccup laughed. "Hey, bud. You ready to go?" He asked as he stroked the dragons' snout.

Toothless impatiently huffed and Hiccup laughed once more. "Let's go."

ooooo

As it became closer to noon hour, the majority of the villagers had descended from the Great Hall and moved on to other island chores that needed to be done. The women would work with laundry and cleaning while the men would search for more resources; hunting for deer or elk, or fishing out the entire sea- basically searching for more occupational hazards. Although there is not much you can do on an island, everyone always seemed pretty busy in need of survival.

Sometimes you'd find a few stray Vikings remaining at the Hall, either done with their daily work or too busy passed out from one too many servings of mead. Gobber sat at one of the wooden tables, with nothing but a full mug and an empty plate, always entertaining his lonely self with his fidgety fingers or anything else he could find occupational. He heard the creaking of the giant Hall doors, closing with a bang as he noticed Stoick casually marching over to Gobber's table and taking a seat.

"Ah, Stoick," He greeted. "I didn't expect you to be here."

Although Gobber was the one to holler when he spoke, he was always in a friendly mood which is a hard emotion you can hang onto on this miserable island.

"Well it doesn't hurt to visit an old friend." Stoick playfully slapped Gobber on the back.

"I thought you'd be busy on one of the hunting parties." said Gobber. Since it was getting closer and closer to the freezing point of the year, there were numerous hunts being launched recently in the purpose of stocking up supplies for the winter. Usually Stoick was never the one to miss them.

"Not this one. Putting my business on break for now." As Chief, one too many duties can put a man on hiatus, added to the fact that Stoick wasn't as young as he used to be, therefore giving his shaky back a well-deserved break. "But it looks like _Hiccup_ has got himself occupied." Stoick continued, his voice lighting up.

Gobber's brows furrowed in confusion, staring at him blankly. "What do ye mean?"

"He's with Astrid."

"Ahh, yes," Gobber boomed as if he had just remembered something important, shooting his mug up in the air as he spoke. "Yes, he and the Hofferson girl really have a thing for each other."

Yes, he knows. He knows their affection towards one another, and the way they adored their privacy together. Many times had Gobber seen Astrid trotting into the forge late at night, no matter what the weather decided to treat her with. She could be drenched in rain, or have filthy mud all over her boots, or even portions of snow mounted on her shoulder pads. And then she'd hobble her way back home hours later. He had also seen them going for walks, up to the point where they vanished far off into Raven Point where no one else ever visited.

Stoick chuckled. "That boy, I tell yeh." Gobber joined in on his laugh, clearing enjoying the discussion of Hiccup's young and amusing life of a teenage boy.

"You know, he reminds me of someone I once knew… a long time ago." The blacksmith winked knowingly. "You and Valhallarama were a couple of rebels back then, weren't yeh?"

Stoick's laugh slowed down, taking a breath, his memories coming back to him now. "Yeah, well…" He paused, looking down at the table before him for a few warm seconds and sighed desperately. "I was young."

And the grin never faded away.


	2. Chapter 2

"Alright, bud, you ready?" Hiccup patted the side of Toothless' neck as he took once last glance at the ground below him. The chilly breeze brushed across his face, sending a soft ripple of shivers throughout his body, making his grin broaden from the feel of it.

He saw the mountain tops below him framed by the white clouds, surrounded by the ocean water with the sun glistening off the smooth waves.

He hooked his arms behind his back to release the clip of his riding vest from the saddle, then slipped his left foot out of the metal stirrup, and hopping into a standing position, Hiccup held out his arms in front of him with his knees slightly bent trying to remain balanced from the heavy wind as he glared into the empty space ahead. Hiccup breathed in, closing his eyes, then confidently leapt off the dragon's back as he let his weight fall upside down through the air.

This was the kind of fun they had and enjoyed. A morning flight was always the highlight of the day for a rider and his dragon- and a way to get off the island. Berk was isolated. There was nowhere else to go, and living on the same small island for your whole life after discovering every nook and cranny that can be discovered, there was so much more to see now.

Hiccup opened one eye, squinting against the wind and saw the face of his Night Fury, falling right next to him. Hiccup smiled once more and closed his eyes again, inhaling the crisp, cold air.

After a while of what felt so little, the boy decided it was high time to turn back to reality, and paddled himself towards Toothless, spending a couple moments waving his hands everywhere trying to leech onto the saddle but yet without a worry. He knew his dragon would always catch him. Soon enough, he grabbed hold of the leather saddle and used his little arm strength to twist himself above, and was positioned back atop his dragon.

"Good job, bud." Hiccup congratulated with a smile and grasped the long piece of leather with the metal ring at the end to hook onto the side of his vest, then slid his leg back into the stirrup, and with one kick, Toothless' prosthetic tail wing was folded outwards.

The two of them continued to soar father away from the main village to the outskirt of the island as Toothless glided a wing through the glimmering water, dodging the slightly snow covered mountains and rocks, guarded by pure fog. Hiccup prodded the foot petal for access to take action in various upward and horizontal spirals. They barely swayed left to right now and again from fighting against the breeze, while Hiccup occasionally looked behind him to make sure the prosthetic wing was still in proper place.

They had finally decided to slow down and just calmly glide through the open space, giving them the wonderful sensation of Berk's air, brushing against their faces.

Hiccup closed his eyes for the shortest seconds, but shot back into focus when the light draft of wind had felt momentarily and suspiciously _heavier _to both Toothless and his rider, making Hiccup's hair blow back in random directions for a few seconds. While a distracted expression crossed his face, he couldn't look or think before a rather big and crystal blue figure once again unexpectedly swiped past them making Toothless stumble, and folded him to nearly an upside down position causing Hiccup to shriek.

"Nice work, Stormfly." Astrid laughed.

Ahh, yes. Hiccup would know that voice anywhere. Astrid was riding her Deadly Nadder who was hovering only a few meters from him and Toothless who eventually regained his steadiness from Astrid's trick. Who knew how many ideas that girl had up her sleeve of fooling Hiccup?

The sight of Astrid and Stormfly together was a bright image in Hiccup's line of sight since her long, bright, golden hair matched her dragon's pretty blue scales perfectly.

"Yeah, nice." Hiccup said sarcastically and un-amused while he tugged on his riding vest a few times, restoring it from getting unwittingly shifted from the fall, but he still couldn't erase the playful smile that refused to escape his face for Hiccup was once again delighted to see the _beautiful_ Astrid on such a _beautiful_ day, which was never, not once any kind of unwanted feeling for him.

"Race you to the village!" Astrid said without even letting him reply before Stormfly took off in the opposite direction towards the town.

Gods, did Hiccup love the way she was so experimental.

He laughed to himself and triggered Toothless' tailfin, then darted to the village. He was nearly on Stormfly's tail, trying his best to not waste another moment that gave Astrid a chance to win this well-taken challenge. Astrid is in fact, the most competitive person he had ever known in his life, especially for a girl. But that never stopped him. Many times had they raced on their dragons, or gone dragon-boarding when they had the time. And she would almost always beat him at any challenge given. She also enjoyed making various bets with him about the most random things that could be thought of, which would often be a received kiss for the winner.

The dragons had soon enough landed at a nearby barn that was located on the edge of Berk and neighbored Hiccup's home, as the two riders decidedly rested in the pure grass next to each other, relieving themselves from the exhausting flying as Toothless and Stormfly stayed nearby to nibble at the weeds. Of course a barn isn't the most pleasant location to be at considering the smell and other obvious reasons, but it just happened to be one of the few places where people rarely visited, and it had an amazing view of the ocean.

The wind's forces had made parts of Hiccup's hair spike and stiffly paste all the way back while Astrid still had the usual strands falling in front of her eyes with her braid a tad loose.

"Alright," Hiccup chortled. "You win again." He confessed leaning back to rest on his hands as if it wasn't a big deal.

"Ta! Who would've known?" The girl uplifted her voice sarcastically.

"I let you win."

"Oh, sure…" Her voice loaded with sarcasm as Hiccup returned a laugh, knowing fair well that she could suspect his lying at any time, but he didn't really mind.

"So," Astrid began, "Pay up," She tapped a finger on her own cheek, aiming the side of her face towards Hiccup so he could action his promised payment. And without the slightest of hesitation, Hiccup playfully but lovingly rolled his eyes with a smile and used his hands for support to lean towards Astrid so he could lay a tender kiss upon her cheekbone. And after a short momentous time, he departed his lips from her cheek while gently opening his eyes to meet hers.

Then he couldn't back away.

Astrid gave out a very small look of confusion that he was now staring at her, and so _close_ to her too, but neither did she move. The confused expression soon enough dulled, and she just waited.

Hiccup got caught in his tracks and felt like he was solid from distraction; the sun had left a breathtaking reflection in Astrid's deep blue sapphire eyes, while the two of them were just a few centimeters from touching foreheads. Hiccup could feel her breath. And they shared the same notable instinct from keeping themselves from making the tiny space in between them wider.

During a silent and continuous dreamy glare coming from the both of them, Hiccup barely raised his hand to slowly swipe away Astrid's bangs and fold it behind her ear. It was one of the few times he had actually seen both of her eyes.

"Ahh," Hiccup spoke in the quietest whisper. "There's the Astrid I've always known."

Her eyes had widened just the slightest bit, as she was literally speechless from how nervous she had suddenly gotten. Hiccup always knew how to successfully make her happy, but he had no idea that he had actually been the only boy she had ever smiled at.

Astrid had just noticed she had gone completely dumbstruck for a few seconds and couldn't help but instantly expose a nervous chuckle while shooting her head down to look at the ground as fast as possible to hide her reddened blush that had bloomed on her cheeks.

Hiccup too let out a breath of laughter and finally abandoned his gaze, realizing he had made the whole thing a little more awkward and departed from the beauty in front of him while returning to leaning back on his hands. He had always been aware that Astrid normally never tolerated such delicacy, and when she was dissatisfied, she wouldn't ignore her want to pleasingly snap someone's head off if she wanted to.

But this was Hiccup. And he ironically failed to notice that she had actually felt loved whenever he looked at her like that, and didn't mind the awkward self he was. Hiccup cleared his throat and operated as if nothing happened. "I let you win."

Astrid smiled.

The only sound that was heard for a few long moments were the bleating of the nearby barn sheep, and the splashing of the waves hitting against the rocks below them every once in a while.

"You know," Hiccup paused, glaring into the view before him. "My dad's been asking about you."

"Really?" Astrid asked a little more concerned than needed after jolting her attention to Hiccup next to her. "About me?"

"Well," Hiccup searched for the right word. "Us."

Astrid giggled slightly. "Yeah, well, that's parents for you." She teased and Hiccup returned a laugh of agreement.

"Hiccup…" She spoke after a while, her voice piled with unexpected despair.

In question why Astrid was saying his name, he finally looked away from the ocean and turned to her, but before he could ask, he was suddenly struck in the side of the face by a filthy hand of tacky mud. "Wh-, hey!" Hiccup slapped a hand on his cheek, feeling the gooey mud all over his freckled skin.

Astrid pierced her lips together, daring herself to not burst out laughing, before she broke out in guffaws.

A devious smirk on Hiccup's face slowly broadened while Astrid noticed him preparing to pounce at her. "Ah!" She released a playful shriek while unsteadily mounting herself up on her feet to run before Hiccup beat her to it.

"Oh, no you don't!" He scampered after her in her tracks, running in Astrid's improvised directions, both trying not to trip over their own shoes.

Their dragons occasionally perked their heads up every time Astrid would scream, then carelessly let out a puff of smoke and went back to nibbling at the grass with a roll in their eyes.

Astrid continuously looked behind her panting self to see if Hiccup was nearly close. She had noticed he was actually getting closer by the second. So she sprinted in a straight line, then instantly turned the corner at the last moment causing Hiccup to almost fall unexpectedly, while sliding across the grass to make a sharp turn. She joyfully giggled at his clumsiness.

"Hey, not fair!" Hiccup hollered over to her.

Astrid had the chance to run a little further, but then suddenly sensed the sound of a stumble. Already forgetting about the boys prosthetic, a strong feeling of regret flooded through Astrid's system for making him run at this pace. She instantly circulated herself to place sight on a moaning Hiccup, lying on his stomach with his head down to his chest. "Hiccup!" She cried as hurried herself back over to him.

If it was anyone, Hiccup was the person she would always be the most worried about, even though she'd deny it if anyone asked. Seeing him struggle was the only thing in the world she could not handle.

Astrid barely came to a stop directly next to the still broken down boy, about to crouch down but was unexpectedly grasped around the ankles and forcefully hauled to the ground. "Aha!" Hiccup yelled, full of pride. Hiccup had for once launched a trick on _her_ instead of the other way around. "Ladies and gentlemen, I give you a fragile Astrid Hofferson!" He proudly announced with a silly accent, and shot his arms up in the air with victory.

"Fragile?" Astrid yelled, complaining about his choice of words while she was still recovering from the fall. The girl would _never _accept herself as a definition of 'fragile'. She didn't even think about letting Hiccup get away with this, so she instantly grasped his arms while he wasn't looking and pinned them on either side of his head with a vigorous grip, remotely forcing him to the ground, then instantaneously straddled over him in hope to make the boy regret his previous decisions.

Hiccup was shocked but impressed by her sudden move, which, actually wasn't _really_ a shock since he was clearly aware of how competitive she could be. And he'd known that for as long as he could remember.

"Regret it, Haddock?" Astrid spoke between breaths while looking down at his struck expression that still had the smudge of mud on his right cheek.

The girl obviously enjoyed contesting more than Hiccup ever would, but he couldn't keep the thought of easily letting a girl beat him in wrestling stay stuck in his head. This wasn't over for him. Without an answer to Astrid's question, Hiccup fearlessly used his leg strength to make her roll off of him then attempted to return the favor of pinning her, but Astrid dodged what he thought would be a weakness.

She found Hiccup to be a very easy person when it came to things like this. One reason would be that she knew he didn't want to hurt her, which gave her a valuable advantage.

They lastingly trundled each other, both laughing at the fun they were having then ended up rolling right into a grimy mud puddle. "Awww…" Hiccup groaned in disgust, but chuckled when Astrid burst out laughing. They couldn't care less about the fact they were both drenched, and instead just let themselves plop down next to each other, finalizing their release of energy. Astrid looked over to Hiccup, both of them breathing heavily.

She smiled at the the dried mud smudge on his cheek.

ooooo

Stoick hobbled himself up the hill to his house with Gobber trailing behind him. As nearly brothers, the two of them would regularly settle themselves in Stoick's home with a mug and a conversation. At other times, they'd be helping each other with things that needed to be done as the villages local Blacksmith and Chief, for they both had important jobs of serving Berk's people.

"Hiccup might need to stay back at the forge for a few extra hours tonight." Gobber wobbled more than he normally would on flat ground, his arms stiff as well. He always hated that hill.

The Chief chortled and rotated his focus on Gobber, hearing the faint ambience of talking villagers and running children off somewhere behind him. "There's still work to be done there?" Knowing how not much forging was needed to be made anymore by Hiccup's handy hands since the loss of the dragon raids, Stoick didn't think Hiccup would have the need to stay back anymore. But weapons were still needed to be made for hunting and other survival issues, adding the fact that running low on weapons in the most unlikely cases was not a preference. But you can never be too sure.

Gobber chuckled. "Well another interchangeable hand might be nice."

Stoick's roar of a laugh nearly echoed in the open air. "You've got more of those things than the hairs on Odin's beard." Indeed Gobber did, and it wasn't a question. He could only return the laugh. If Hiccup was the man's apprentice, he always thought why not put him to use? Although there was a point in Hiccup's life where he had been called 'useless' for many years, everyone in the village including Gobber believed that he was the most talented boy out there, and anyone would've been lucky to have him as handy hands.

They barely had the chance to proceed their slow way up to the house, their oh-so-interesting-topic-of-a-conversation was injected by the distant sound of a_ laugh_, which knowingly belonged to neither of them. It sounded happy. And loud but faint, almost like the laugh of a child when they got their first birthday toy. Gobber waited, watching the suspicion on Stoick's face as his eyes darted. But all it took was a turn of the head to notice something in the distance. A figure. The Chief's eyes instantly lay still, barely squinting, and took a few light steps nearer to get an improved view.

Off into the short distance, right outside the neighboring barn was Hiccup, underneath a slightly messy Astrid, both lying on the ground and carelessly drenched in dry mud and dirt. Astrid was partially lying by Hiccup's side yet slightly above him so that their chests touched and she looked down at him. Her palm harmlessly rested on his smoothly up and down motioned chest- her fingers calmly playing with the string on his tunic with her remaining hand peacefully brushing slowly through Hiccup's bangs that glowed bronze in the sun.

Stoick couldn't force away the smile that instantly glued itself on his face. It was indeed a heartwarming sight. Hiccup was only 16, with a life ahead of him, and adventures sure to come. And Stoick couldn't wait just to see what that boy would come up with.

Gobber remained behind Stoick, very slowly and soundlessly taking steps closer as he smiled, glancing at Stoick then back at the two in the grass, trying very well to remain silent for he could see the affection in his friend's eyes.

Hiccup let Astrid do whatever she intended, while she used her middle finger to soothingly broom throughout Hiccup's hair and trace lines on his forehead, completely ignoring the dirt all over his face, almost putting him to sleep. Hiccup eyes slowly closed then opened, smiling up at her.

And it was that moment that Stoick's eyes widened and his smile barely lowered; for a few short moments, Astrid pressed her lips to Hiccups, and every surrounding became blank.

So much feeling had Stoick felt at that very moment; pride, respect, joy, and a _reminder_. He couldn't remember the last time he had seen his son so happy, nor his _own_ feeling of happiness. It was a relief for him to finally recognize that rare emotion once again after so many empty years, long enough to completely forget the feeling. Even though it wasn't in Stoick's own existence, he proudly got to see his son experience what he had once felt.

Forgetting that someone was with him, Stoick heard Gobber's voice coming from behind him. "You know," The Blacksmiths voice sounded beyond softer than usual. "That boy is just like you when you were his age."

The Chief hated to admit it, but Gobber was far more than right.

"He sure is, Gobber." Stoick whispered. "He sure is."

* * *

**There it is! Thank you so much for reading, please review!**


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